Why haven't undecideds chosen their candidate already? Some voters like to mull

This photo taken Oct. 25, 2012, shows Kelly Cox, co-owner of ShehanÍs Transport Refrigeration in Delhi, Calif. Who are these people who still can’t make up their minds? They’re undecided voters like Cox, who spends his days repairing the big rigs that haul central California’s walnuts, grapes, milk and much more across America. He doesn’t put much faith in Barack Obama or Mitt Romney.

Gary Kazanjian, Associated Press

Summary

The election's less than two weeks away, and some voters are still making up their minds. A new AP-GfK poll shows 5 percent of Americans with strong plans to vote have yet to pick their presidential candidate.

WASHINGTON — Who are these people who still can't make up their minds? They're undecided voters like Kelly Cox, who spends his days repairing the big rigs that haul central California's walnuts, grapes, milk and more across America.

He doesn't put much faith in either Barack Obama or Mitt Romney. But he figures he's got plenty of time — a little more than a week — to settle on one of them before Nov. 6. And he definitely does plan to vote.

"I'll do some online research," said Cox, co-owner of a Delhi, Calif., truck repair shop. "I don't have time to watch presidential debates because it's a lot of garbage anyway. They're not asking the questions that the people want to hear."

About 5 percent of Americans with solid plans to vote have yet to pick their presidential candidate, according to a new AP-GfK poll. When you add in those who lean only tentatively toward their choice or won't declare a favorite, about 16 percent of likely voters look ripe for persuasion. That's about the same as a month ago.

In a super-tight race, undecided voters have taken on almost mythic stature. Their questions at the town hall-style debate are parsed. Campaign techies wade through data to find them. The president dialed up 9,000 of them for an Air Force One conference call as he flew to Los Angeles this week.

But the undecided also endure Twitter sniping and late-night TV ribbing. They're derided as uninformed nincompoops who don't merit the power they wield. As David Letterman put it: "You're idiots! Make up your mind!"

Do these wafflers, ruminators and procrastinators deserve coddling — or scorn? Are they just misunderstood?

A look at who they are and what they're waiting for:

THEY'RE NOT BLANK SLATES

Two-thirds of persuadable voters have an established party preference, the AP-GfK poll shows. They're roughly divided between those who call themselves Democrats or lean that way and those who are Republicans or lean to that side.

So why not just plan to vote with their party?

"They are really a little bit torn," said Lynn Vavreck, an associate professor of political science at the University of California, Los Angeles. "They may have some issue positions that are counter to their party, or they're not sure how they stand on some things."

Nancy Hoang, a University of Minnesota freshman studying mathematics, considers herself a fiscal conservative and leans Republican. Yet she vacillated because she agrees with the Democrats' support for gay marriage and opposition to voter ID laws.

"I could have gone either way," said Hoang, 18. Not until after the final debate Monday did she decide: Her first-ever presidential vote will go to Romney.

Most of these undecided voters will come home to their favored party by Election Day, predicts Vavreck, who studies an ongoing survey of registered voters as well as trends from past elections.

STILL, A GOOD CHUNK ARE INDEPENDENTS

About 30 percent of persuadable voters say they're political independents. That's three times the presence of independents — just 8 percent — among likely voters who have decided who they'll vote for, according to the AP-GfK poll.

In an increasingly polarized America, they stand out. Robert Dohrenburg, a small business owner in McAllen, Texas, voted for Republicans Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, but not for Bush's son, George W. He backed Obama in 2008, then had second thoughts this year.

Dohrenburg, 56, watched all three presidential debates before making up his mind to stick with Obama, in part because Romney "says one thing today and another thing tomorrow."

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